Between Here and There
by D Willims
Summary: The bits of their lives that make up something approaching love. NejiHina drabbles. No particular order. Latest: Aftermath. Neji hasn't lost Hinata yet.
1. Arrangements

**Disclaimer: I don't own the _Naruto_ universe**

**A/N: Written for 50Elements on LiveJournal for Fire Theme #16: "Perfect".**

**Arrangements**

There were three things of note about the Hyuuga clan:

1.) Familial titles had been all but abolished. There were no cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, etc. Those kinds of things made everything so much more complicated, at least according to the Elders.

2.) The Hyuuga clan was, by nature, reclusive. Outside influence had been kept to a minimum since the beginnings of the clan. People on the outside didn't understand the way people clung to the old ways of doing things.

3.) Everything eventually came down to the Yin and the Yang, the divine balance. The balance was the cornerstone for everything the Hyuuga did: from setting up marriages to their style of fighting. It was considered the only thing more powerful than the Hyuuga themselves.

Those three principles had governed Neji's life for as long as he could remember. Somehow, the Hyuuga doctrine had culminated in Neji being betrothed to Hinata. Really, he knew he should have seen it coming; Hinata was the complete opposite of everything that Neji was. The only real wrench in the Elders' plan was the fact that Neji was of Branch House descent, and Hinata was the heiress to the clan, above even the Main House. That difference in status could be overlooked, as long as they were careful not to let too much of the past change.

Even more than her status, Hinata was above the rest of the Hyuuga in her morality. Beautiful, shy, kind, gentle Hinata was a saint among corruption, as close as one could get to an angel on land. There was no doubt in Neji's mind that Hinata had some bigger purpose, some reason for existing that was above the calling of a ninja. She was too delicate to be a kunoichi, too pure to sully her hands with all the blood.

Neji _hated_ her for it.

Watching her from across the campsite as she stoked up the fire, Neji thought he hated her even more with every passing moment. Did Hinata ever throw her status around like the rest of the Main House? It was Neji's job to build a fire, to cook, to set the traps…

"You're bleeding," Hinata's voice trembled, a reminder of her customary stutter. Even at eighteen, she'd never fully outgrown her shyness. How was someone like her supposed to control a whole clan with the arrogance of the Hyuuga?

Neji glowered and kicked a foot at the dirt, pressing one hand up against the gash on his arm. "It's nothing," he growled, not looking at her.

And then her hands were there, tugging his hand away and pushing his sleeve up over his shoulder. Some part of Neji was shocked to learn that Hinata had the same calloused hands of all shinobi. The whole thing was over before he really registered it had begun; the gash was bandaged and she was back on her side of the fire.

Some part of Neji wanted to scream at her, to kick and hit her like they were still children. Hinata was not supposed to take everything in stride like this; she was supposed to be angry that the Elders were taking her life away. It was just as good as being poisoned to death, killing them both slowly and surely because of the standards of the clan.

"Get some sleep," Hinata murmured after a long, silent pause. "I'll take the first watch."

Neji nodded sharply, standing. Really, he wasn't even allowed to refuse her order. It was treason against the clan or something.

Fingers snagged his sleeve and Hinata was suddenly eye-to-eye with him. "Don't worry about it so much," her lips brushed over his temple, just on the corner of his seal. A faint blush rose to her cheeks and she let his sleeve go. "We'll work it out."

Nodding again, Neji said nothing and turned to make his way to the tent. Maybe she was right; maybe they could work this out. They'd have to, wouldn't they? Divorce was virtually unheard of in the Hyuuga clan. And, well, they'd grown up together, so they at least knew some of each other's idiosyncrasies.


	2. Pretty Girl is Offering

**Disclaimer: I don't own the **_**Naruto**_** universe.**

**A/N: Written for 50Elements on LiveJournal for Fire Theme #22 Hair.**

**Pretty Girl is Offering**

Her hair was what stopped Neji this time, right in the middle of the festival crowds. It was black, like all Hyuuga, with that odd sheen of indigo. And the light from one of the massive cooking fires made it flicker oddly. First more of a dark navy and then more of a brilliant purple.

Lately, he'd been noticing that there was _something_ about Hinata that stopped him in his tracks. And it stopped him often. Sometimes it would be her too warm smile or sometimes it was the feather-light touch on his arm as they passed each other.

Once, she'd hugged him before a mission, her arms just barely there, and ghosted a kiss over his cheek. He'd ended up staring stupidly into the space where she'd been for a good ten minutes.

Neji wondered if this was what falling was like. Falling in what exactly, he didn't know. There was too much raw anger and hurt directed towards Hinata to be in love, as Sakura had suggested. But there was something. Some strong, almost tender emotion that he couldn't put a name to.

Neji was brought sharply out of his musings when Hinata flicked her hair over her shoulder, turned, caught his gaze, and smiled brightly.


	3. These Things You Can't Undo

**Disclaimer: I don't own the **_**Naruto**_** universe.**

**A/N: Written for 50 Elements on LiveJournal for Fire Theme #36 "Loss."**

**These Things You Can't Undo**

He was half asleep across her lap, fingers trailing over the rough bandages around her abdomen. Just barely touching, cautious of the gruesome wound underneath. The touch, though, still managed to make her feel safe, anchored somehow.

She allowed her fingers to wind into the strands of his long, loose hair. Gingerly, she petted his hair back from his face. His skin was feverish under her fingers, though she knew that he was probably half-frozen (Snow Country had that effect).

"You didn't tell me," he accused, fingers skirting around a bit of blood on the bandages.

Swallowing slightly, she looked away from him towards the flickering flame on the end of the candle. "I _couldn't_," she murmured. "It… it wasn't…"

It wasn't because of him, but because of her. The Hyuuga demanded the first born of each family, always, and their child would have been the heir. She had gone through that, she didn't know if she could put her child through that.

Honestly? She hadn't set out to lose the baby, though, despite her inner turmoil. The village had demanded her ability as a ninja. And she had sacrificed the Hyuuga's heir, _her child_, for the life of her mission partner—some rookie or other who wasn't quite alert.

Some part of her was horrified and disgusted and hurt… and _relieved_, in turns. And she wondered if that was normal. Was that what her mother had felt when she'd had daughters instead of sons? That they'd be spared the Hyuuga's demands…

Sliding her fingers out of his hair, she rubbed a hand against the stiff muscles in his arm. "It wasn't like that," she mumbled. "I wasn't ready… to tell the clan… to tell you… And then your mission came up… and mine… it was all so damn fast. Then the baby was just… just gone." Two weeks, only two weeks had passed since she found out. No time at all, and yet a lifetime.

A hand slipped up around her waist, and he pressed his face up against her stomach. Kissed up along the scar, towards her lungs where the missing-nin had tried to cut up. He sat up achingly slow, then, and pressed a kiss to her lips. One hand on her waist, other on her shoulder, holding him up, keeping her from running away.

Bringing one hand up, she pressed it against the back of his head and wrapped her other arm against his waist. They weren't so much kissing, anymore, as just holding each other.

Like that, she knew the subject was dropped. He wouldn't bring it up again, that was the way he handled things.


	4. Sola Fide

**Disclaimer: I don't own the _Naruto_ universe.**

**A/N: Written for 50 Elements on LiveJournal for Fire Theme #07 "Explanation".**

**A/N2: **_**Sola fide**_** is Latin for "faith alone".**

**Sola Fide**

Hinata held the match with oddly steady hands, holding the sticks of incense close to the flame carefully. Set the incense on the little plate the temple offered for offerings. Her pearlescent eyes followed the smolder of sweet-smelling smoke.

Neji's matching eyes were on her, though. She could feel the burning stare against the back of her neck.

"He died for you, you know," he whispered finally, as if afraid to break the fragile silence.

Carefully, Hinata tilted her head as if to say she understood. She didn't.

"My father," Neji continued. Hinata was surprised by the utter lack of accusation. "He had faith in you, that you could change it."

There was a long pause. Hinata watched the incense smolder in memory of her uncle and her father.

Finally she stood and made her way to him, pressed a hand against Neji's shoulder. "My father took that kunai for you," she whispered softly. Bent and pressed a kiss against the bandages that covered his seal. "He had faith in you."

And she left.


	5. Aftermath

**Disclaimer: I don't own the **_**Naruto**_** universe.**

**A/N: Written for 50 Elements on LiveJournal for Fire Theme #03 "War."**

**Aftermath**

It had been a trap. An ANBU team had been caught on the border of Rice Fields Country, tracking a low ranked missing-nin. There had been a fire set by Oto ninja, a weak declaration of war at best, and Konoha had dispatched more ANBU to clean up the situation before it became an actual war. Neji had been among those deployed to the frontlines; he'd been injured.

The first time he woke up, he was in a make-shift, field hospital. There had been medics gossiping about the whole mess. One of them had said something about it being Hyuuga Hinata's squad that had been caught in the initial attack.

Hinata was there when Neji woke again; they were in an actual hospital room. There was clean gauze taped over her right shoulder and the side of her face; and her arm was in a sling, two of her fingers were splinted. Her left hand was curled around his.

Weakly, Neji squeezed her hand.

"Hey," she whispered, rubbing his knuckles with her thumb absent-mindedly.

"Mmm… hey." His tongue felt heavy. "You're okay?"

"Of course," she offered a small smile. Untangling their fingers, Hinata reached over to stroke Neji's hair gently. "It's only a little burn. Some broken bones."

"Good," Neji mumbled. He was already dozing off again. "Thought I'd lost you."

She was still stroking his hair, "Not yet." Warm lips pressed against his temple as she leaned closer to him. "Get some rest, okay. I'll be here when you wake up."

Neji nodded slowly, eyes sliding closed.


End file.
